


More Human Than You Think

by zaudreyhepburn



Series: Metal Parts [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Trust me on this one, darcy is tony's AI
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-13 17:57:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11765307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaudreyhepburn/pseuds/zaudreyhepburn
Summary: Bucky's just trying to get used to life in Stark Tower. Tony's AI DARCY helps him out.





	1. Bucky meets DARCY

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to the story. There will probably be around ten chapters to this and I've been writing non stop so I'm just going to post them as they come, meaning there could easily be multiple updates per day. 
> 
> This is un-betad but I've reread and edited like a million times so it should be good! If you find any glaring issues feel free to point them out and I'll fix them :)
> 
> Here's Bucky meeting DARCY!

"Hey. _Hey_!"

Bucky woke with a start, the thrashing of his fitful sleep ending and his breath coming hard. He was up in an instant, decades of Hydra training overruling the anxiety that still lingered from his nightmare. On instinct he lunged for the gun at his waist. Not finding it there he tried for his ankle holster only to come up empty once more. When he realized he had been unarmed he finally took a second to take in his surroundings. A living room, perhaps. Sterile, sleek, and mostly in shades of gray. There was a long black rectangle in front of the couch he had jumped from that he knew was called a television. There was a small kitchenette visible from the spot where he stood as well as a dark hallway he couldn't see down.

He recognized none of this.

Had he been captured on a a mission? How was that even possible? It had never happened before. The thought terrified him, but not because of his possible captors. He cringed to think of the punishment he would endure once they got him back.

"Are you okay?"

A feminine voice, laced with concern, coming from seemingly no where. There had been no one in the room and as he swung around he realized there was still no one.

"Who are you?" he growled out in Russian, "Where am I?"

Whoever the voice was coming from seemed to hesitate momentarily, but they quickly recovered and replied - to his surprise - in Russian.

"You're name is Bucky Barnes. You are in your suite in Stark Tower. You fell asleep on the couch while watching old footage reels of the Howling Commandos, which you and your best friend Steve Rogers were a part of during the war. You are the Winter Soldier, ally of the Avengers, and no longer a prisoner and weapon of Hydra. You are safe."

It came rushing back to him as the woman spoke. He settled back onto the couch. His couch. Steve had gotten him the thick red afghan he had been sleeping under. He remembered that.

He let out a shuddering breath, eyes squeezed shut as the nightmare he had came rushing back. Not that they were really nightmares, just horrible memories of all the things he had done.

"Would you like me to get Captain Rogers?" The voice asked again, in English now, quietly as if she might scare him (which was smart, Bucky thought) or more like she was concerned for his well being (which was less smart and more strange.)

"No," his answer was immediate. Steve had been worrying about him so much over the past couple months. As much as Bucky appreciated the concern and felt quilty for making Steve feel bad, it was also beginning to become extremely annoying to be treated with kid gloves 24/7. Bringing Steve in now would only make it all worse. Besides, he didn't seem to actually be alone even if he didn't know where the girl was.

"Are you invisible or something?" he asked, much calmer than he should be with a disembodied voice talking to him. Either he'd finally cracked or Stark had brought in some new invisible girl to join the team. After meeting an alien/God and a man who could turn into a giant green monster, there wasn't much Bucky would be surprised by. Although if she was invisible it begged the question of how she got into his quarters.

"No," the voice sounded humored even if she did not laugh. "I'm Mr. Stark's artificial intelligence program. I'm the security system for the tower."

"Then why haven't I ever heard you before?"

"Captain Rogers and Mr. Stark thought it might be smarter to ease you into technology. They thought I might freak you out. Mr. Stark wouldn't take kindly to a Russian super soldier trying to shoot at me. Bullets in his ceiling are a no no."

Bucky's eyes furrowed. Again with the kid gloves. "Did he change his mind?"

"No. Technically I'm breaking a direct order."

"You'll get in trouble," he said without thinking, remember the types of punishment people could suffer from disobeying orders.

"Maybe. But you needed help. So it would be worth it, I think." And she almost sounds confused about it herself.

Something about that struck Bucky, as it always did when someone seemed to care about him. Even months out of cryo it still surprised him that anyone would bother after everything he had done. He laid back down on the couch with nothing more to say to the strange if nice voice in his ceiling.

Staring at the smooth white ceiling lightly illuminated by the very beginnings of sunrise, he was suddenly hit by a wave of fatigue. Usually after his nightmares he wasn't able to fall back asleep but tonight it seemed like he would.

The voice was silent as he let his eyes fall closed and drifted back into slumber. Just before he slipped under he thought he might have heard something whispered to him.

It sounded an awful lot like "Sleep well."

 

+++

 

The common room at Stark Tower was great. It included a huge living room with a long couch and giant flat screen with an adjacent kitchen that any professional chef would die for. The space was much more homey than the blank canvases of rooms that had been prepared for everyone who was invited to live in the tower. Bucky supposed Pepper Potts was to thank for that.

Though he had lived in the tower for quite a while, Bucky was pretty new to the common room. It was only recently and under his therapist's careful advisory that he had felt comfortable enough to venture into the public areas for more than a couple minutes. Extending his bubble to more than just his room was a big task, but it was a step in the right direction. It helped that almost everyone else was away more often than not on missions he still wasn't allowed on.

It had been a couple days that Steve and the others had been gone, now, and he'd spent the better chunk of those few days trying to catch up on the list of movies and TV and music he had been given. But now he couldn't find the remote and he had been in the middle of a show called House that Sam had recommended and the last episode he watched ended with a cliff hanger.

"The remote is on the kitchen counter next to the toaster."

Bucky jumped from where he stood pulling the cushions off the couch, looking around for whoever said that. Then he remembered the voice. He wouldn't find a person to place it with. He calmed down quickly and walked to the kitchen where he did in fact find the remote next to the toaster.

"Thanks," he muttered under his breath, looking around once more for evidence of cameras or even speakers only to find none. Stark did a good job at hiding his tech.

"No problem. I really want to know what happens next."

Bucky's brow furrowed, "You've been watching?"

"Yep."

"Don't you have a job to do or something?"

"One of the many perks of having eyes on all of the tower all at once is that I'm a fabulous multitasker."

"Huh," Bucky stood for a moment, attempting to contemplate that but stopping quickly. Even if the talking security system didn't scare him there was no way he was going to be able to understand her. It. Whatever. So he just went back to the couch and sat down, queuing up the next episode of his show.

Some time later he heard footsteps coming down the hall and paused his episode. They were fast, like the person was rushing, but also extremely light. He turned to see who it would be, alert and ready as always. A short woman with brown hair and a lab coat walked in and beelined to the kitchen, dropping pop tarts into the toaster as fast as possible before crossing her arms and tapping her foot, staring at the kitchen appliance. She was trailed by a sleek white sphere, about the size of a football, hovering beside her.

"Staring at it won't make it go any faster." Bucky looked up again, a little startled to hear the robot woman's voice again, this time coming from the white ball.

The woman in the lab coat huffed, "What else should I do, then?"

"Drink some water. Coffee dehydrates and it's all you've had."

Lab Coat huffed again before moving to do just that. "DARCY, you know I'm a grown woman perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"You haven't slept in 26.3 hours, so I'm going to have to disagree with you there, boss lady."

Lab Coat just huffed and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, quickly uncapping it and taking a couple swigs. "Happy?"

"Extremely."

"Good. Then you can unlock the lab for me." The toaster dinged and Lab Coat grabbed her pop tarts. They smelled strongly of chemicals but not in a bad way. She turned to lean against the kitchen counter, arms crossed and biting into the toaster pastry. Her eyes immediately locked with Bucky's and widened. There was a beat, then he raised a hand in an awkward greeting. To say Bucky was out of practice socializing was an understatement, but he's been advised to at least start trying. And no, Steve liked to remind him, glaring at people when they approach him is not socializing.

Lab Coat swallowed her pop tart and smiled meekly. "Hi. Sorry, I, uh, didn't realize someone was here."

"It's not your fault. For a super genius she really isn't great at noticing things," the ball, DARCY, chimed in.

"It's okay." Bucky was quiet. He prided himself on that. It would have been more surprising if she did notice him.

After another tense silence DARCY stage whispered to Lab Coat, "This is usually the part where you introduce yourself."

Lab Coat sent DARCY a short glare, "Yes, I know that," she returned her attention to Bucky, "I'm Jane."

This was the hard part. Bucky never knew how to introduce himself these days. Usually he was with Steve if he met a new person and his friend introduced the former Hydra prisoner/agent/super soldier for him. But with Steve in the middle of buttfuck nowhere doing god knows what Bucky was left to his own devices. The Winter Soldier was out of the question. If it didn't scare people then it was just too formal. At first he'd preferred James, the strange nickname 'Bucky' seeming foreign and far too cheery and familiar for the super assassin he'd become. Bucky probably would have settled on Barnes, a nice impersonal middle ground. But, since Steve was the one doing the introducing, he always ended up being Bucky.

"Bucky," he settled on after a moment. It had felt more true, lately. Like maybe the womanizing gent from the 40s was still in there somewhere.

"I know," Lab Coat - Jane - said. Oh. Of course she did. Bucky's sure everyone who lived or worked in the tower was warned about the big scary assassin was in the building. He wanted that to make him more bitter than it did. Really, it was probably a good thing. He still wasn't 100% healed. Civilians like this Jane should be warned.

Another long silence. Jane took another bite of her pop tart. She tried her best not to stare at him, assuming the conversation to be over, and let her eyes focus somewhere else in the room. Bucky did no such thing and stared directly at Jane. He ended up figuring out that she was definitely wearing a dirty shirt if the dried tomato sauce stain on her t-shirt said anything and that she was a scientist. The second thing was a little more obvious due to the lab coat. Bucky had seen quite a few nameless faces walking around in lab coats the one time Steve ushered him down to the R&D floor so Tony could take a look at his arm. (This did not go well and Tony barely touched the thing before being pinned to the nearest wall by his neck.) A third more interesting thing about Jane was the necklace with a charm of Thor's Hammer hanging from it. He wondered if she knew the alien god man Bucky was still weary of. Or, more likely, if she was a "fangirl", something Steve had begrudgingly explained the meaning of to him a couple days prior.

"A-hem," the white ball said,"You didn't introduce me, Jane."

Jane lazily gestured towards the ball, "This is DARCY, Tony Stark's AI."

"We've met," Bucky noted, taking in the hovering white ball wearily. Somehow this was stranger than a disembodied voice.

Jane turned accusingly to DARCY, "Then why did you have me- Whatever. We have to get back to work."

Jane walked out of the kitchen with her toast and water bottle still in hand, DARCY trailing after her saying, "You forgot to tell him I'm your babysitter, too!" Bucky watched them leave, wondering to himself if that counted as a successful social interaction.

"Sorry about that," DARCY's voice came over from some indeterminable point in the room once more. Bucky startled slightly, eyes darting around the room for a moment before calming down. "I just like messing with her."

"It's okay..." Bucky replied, unsure what else to say.

"Are you going to unpause the show?" she asked.

Bucky looked at the TV and then the remote blankly for a minute before nodding and pressing play.

"Good. You were just getting to a good part."


	2. Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bucky needs calming down and stories are told.

The next night, Bucky bolted upright, panting. He recognized his surroundings this time. His bed, a king size thing that was too plush and covered in light blue sheets. A mirror, a bureau, a small and sparsely used bookshelf, a bedside table with a lamp and nothing else. It was only a small comfort that he knew where he was. This sterile, neat room he lived in still felt unfamiliar in a way. It didn't feel like home. Not that Bucky knew what that would feel like anymore. At least it didn't smell as harshly of cleaning supplies as the rest of the tower tended to.

He slowly laid back down, his head sinking into the ridiculously soft pillow and pressing a hand to his chest. It was still beating too fast, and he couldn't quite catch his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut and struggled to take shuddering deep breaths. The room seemed to get fuzzier around him as he lost focus on his surroundings.s He recognized this, knew what it was. The last time he had a panic attack he wasn't in his own apartment yet and still slept on Steve's couch. He'd been there to help him through it. This time he was alone.

"Bucky," a voice softly filtered into the room. He instantly recognized it as DARCY's. "I think you're having a panic attack. Would you like me to alert Captain Rogers?"

It was a tempting offer, one Bucky really wanted to take, but all he could think of was the broken way Steve still looked at him sometimes and how he'd only just gotten some freedom.

"N-No," Bucky gasped. There was a moment of silence where Bucky opened his eyes again in hope it might help. It didn't, and he shut his eyes once more.

"Is there anything else I can do to help you?"

Bucky thought, tried to remember what Steve had done. Well, he'd held him. But ceiling robots who were just voices couldn't do that, Bucky wasn't even sure if he'd want her to anyway. Steve had also talked, about a lot of stuff, mostly recalling stories from back in the day. The skin on skin contact helped, but it was the words that distracted Bucky enough for the panic attack to pass.

"Tell me a story," he requested breathlessly, too distressed to care that he sounded a bit like a child.

"Okay," another short pause, as if DARCY was thinking of a good one. "There once was a Queen and a King. They were the kindest and most beloved rulers the kingdom had ever known-"

"Fairytales?" Bucky interjected, "Really?"

"What's wrong with fairytales?" DARCY manages to sound a bit indignant. Bucky just makes a face. "Okay, fine. There once was a Chinese girl. All she ever wanted was to be a good daughter to her parents. One day, her father was called upon to go to war, for China was fighting against the invading Huns. But her father was old and crippled. The girl knew he wouldn't return from war alive. But the emperor had requested a fighting man from every home and her family had no sons. She did the only thing she she could do. She cut off all her hair, stole her father's sword, and snuck off to join the army in place of her father..."

DARCY continued her story about the girl and it wasn't long before Bucky's breath stopped coming fast and his heart calmed down. He found himself caught up in the story, interested to find out what would happen to this brave young woman. DARCY's voice was strong and emotive as she spoke, even occasionally doing the voices which managed to bring a small smile to Bucky's face. He liked listening to her. By the end of the story, when the girl gets the General and saves all of China, Bucky had completely calmed down. He felt more comfortable than he had in a while.

"The end."

Bucky opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. "Thanks."

"I'm here to serve, Bucky," she said, voice kind. How it was that a robot managed to sound warm was beyond him. "You owe me a story now."

"Do I?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes, you absolutely do."

"Okay," he said with a yawn.

"Another time. Now you should try and sleep a little more."

Bucky lazily nodded in agreement and nodded off to sleep.

  
++

  
Steve came back three days later. He walked into the common room still suited up, Tony Stark entering shortly after the only way he ever enters a room, loud and obnoxiously and chattering about something Bucky didn't understand at all. He was getting really good at tuning him out.

"Hey Buck," Steve greeted overly happy and a touch surprised, cutting off whatever Tony was staying. Bucky doubted his friend expected to see him occupying the common room. "How ya doing?" Bucky knew the question was well intentioned, but it ended up irritating him more than anything.

"Fine."

Steve's smile dimmed slightly but he nodded anyway. He gestured to the television. "What are you watching?"

"House."

Steve nodded, looking at the screen, obviously not familiar with the show.

"A good show," Tony chimed in. Bucky almost forgot he was there. "I used to watch in passing. It gets a bit repetitive but Hugh Laurie- Now that guy's a great actor," Bucky stared at tony blankly. "He came to one of my parties out in Malibu one time. Bet you didn't know he was British."

"I know," he nodded up at the ceiling, "It's the first thing she told me."

"...Who, Buck?" Steve inquired.

"DARCY."

Tony and Steve froze, both wearing expressions of mild shock.

"Tony, we had an agreement."

"Trust me, Cap, I know. Uh, DARCY, what happened to not speaking unless spoken to around big, bad, and assassiny?"

"Tony!" Steve scolded.

"Sorry, I mean Sgt. Barnes."

"Apologies, sir, but I felt it necessary to break protocol."

"You felt it necessary... We're going to have a talk about this in the lab."

"Understood," DARCY replied as Tony walked off. In his four days of knowing her Bucky had never heard her sound so... Professional.

Steve just stood there in front of him, awkward and embarrassed and not quite looking Bucky in the eye. Bucky just stared directly at him, the slight anger he'd felt when he originally found out they were hiding DARCY from him increasing by the second.

"Hiding anything else, Steve?"

"Bucky..."

"No, it's fine, I get it. Probably just more robots my poor, fragile mind can't handle, right?"

"It's not like that," Steve starts, bringing out the Cap voice because the Cap voice means he's right and Bucky's wrong for trying to distance himself from his perfect, noble best friend.

"Of course not." Bucky stands up and walks past Steve.

"Come on, Buck-" Steve starts to follow him.

"Not. Now."

  
++

  
"What's up, boss?" DARCY asked as soon as Tony entered is lab.

"You disobeyed direct orders. Direct orders I literally programmed into you."

"I found a loophole."

Tony scoffed and moved to the holodesk, pulling up a 3D blueprint of the entire tower. "What loophole?"

"My most important job is to watch over the inhabitants of the tower, make sure they and everyone else is safe. Because of this I had to override your command and reveal myself to Sgt. Barnes."

"Really? There was danger that Barnes couldn't take care of himself?" Tony sounded skeptical, zooming into the blueprint to Bucky's apartment, "That's not hard to believe at all."

"Bucky may be a super soldier but he's still human, sir."

Tony stops what he's doing, "Oh, so he's Bucky now is he?"

"No need to be jealous, he requested I call him that."

"Yeah, sure he did," Tony grumpled. "What happened with him?"

"Four nights ago he had an episode. He slipped back into full blown Winter Soldier mode. Had he not been calmed down he could have been a potential threat to himself and others. I recorded it, if you would like proof."

DARCY brought up the surveillance footage from four nights ago and Tony finds that she is in fact telling the truth.

Tony's silent for a moment. "Remind me not to doubt you, DARCY."

"Only everyday, sir," she said happily.

Tony pushed dismissed the blueprint and video with a wave of his hand and went behind the bar to pour himself a drink. "Hey, text Pepper about making dinner plans someplace fancy, okay? Mission food always sucks, I need something expensive in my mouth again."

"Of course, sir."

"And DARCY? Good job."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos appreciated!


	3. Robots are People too

Bucky paced in his living room, fists clenching and unclenching as he did so. He knew Steve meant well, that he was only worried and trying his best to make things as easy for Bucky as possible. But besides missions, which were confidential, Bucky hadn't thought Steve would hide things from him. Despite knowing that his friend only had his best interests at heart, it still made it hard to trust him. For gods sake, the man wasn't his father! And if he'd give Bucky a chance then he'd see that the ex-Hydra agent isn't a second away from snapping and killing everyone in sight anymore.

He felt too tense and hot and angrier than he'd been since upgrading to his own apartment. A part of him felt betrayed. He suddenly stopped pacing and punched the wall with his flesh and blood fist and a frustrated yell. There was a horrible crack that Bucky belatedly realized didn't come from the wall. In fact, the wall was completely fine. Not even a dent. His hand, though...

"I knew there was a chance you'd do that, but I definitely thought it would be with the metal one. Not that it would make a difference for the wall, that stuff's Hulk proof material."

Bucky jumped, wondering if he'd ever get used to DARCY sneaking up on him like that. He didn't respond, just remained rooted to the spot and staring at his hurt, bloody knuckles.

"There's a First Aid Kit under your bathroom sink," she advised.

He walked to the bathroom silently, calmer than he had been before. Or maybe just more numb. Either was better than the heat he'd felt in his blood minutes before even if he still felt tense.

Once he pulled the First Aid Kit onto the counter with his metal hand he sat on the toilet and began wrapping his hand in a makeshift splint. He healed fast. Not as fast as Steve, but fast. A minor break like this would only last a couple hours. But, if it wasn't set right then it would heal all wrong and re-breaking bones is a pain in the ass.

"Who put this here?" he asked.

"It's been there since before you moved in," DARCY replied.

"Oh. I didn't know it was here," Bucky grumbled, embarrassed for someone to be witnessing this. He wasn't even sure DARCY counted as a someone, though. She had described herself as a security system, right? It wasn't like she was a real person. The question of her status as a talking, personable security system did beg some other questions, though. "Does Stark record everything?"

"Not in apartments. There are privacy protocols for that."

"Good," Bucky nodded. There was a stretch of silence where Bucky just stared at the open First Aid Kit in front of him, unfeeling.

"Would you like to move back to the couch, Bucky?"

He nodded, walking back to his living room and sitting stiffly on his couch. He felt funny. Like he still existed, but he was watching himself exist from far away. His therapist had told him about this, a common symptom of PTSD. Disassociation.

"Bucky?"

He tilted his head slightly towards the ceiling to signify that he heard her.

"I think you should try telling Captain Rogers how you feel. Scary, I know, but it might be worth it. He only wants what's best for you." her voice was softer, now, not at its usual volume.

"He should already know."

"People don't work like that, Bucky."

Her tone was soft but still managed to piss him off, "How would you know? You're not even a person."

A pause. For a second he though he scared her off, if AIs can even get scared at all. But she answered, "No, I'm not a person. But I spend all my time watching the people who live and work in his tower. That includes Captain Rogers."

Bucky was silent.

"I have also been designed to be somewhat human. For example, I care about every person in the tower."

He remained silent.

"And I find myself really enjoying House."

This brought the ghost of a smile to Bucky's face, the corners of his lips upturned ever so slightly. He sighed and tried to focus on something, locking onto a small handblown glass vase on his coffee table. "It's... Frustrating," he finally says.

"I can imagine," she sympathizes.

"I know he wants what's best for me. And I appreciate it. Him getting me away from HYDRA, helping me when things were really bad, but I'm getting better and I can't keep getting better if he's not being honest with me. If he's still trying to protect me from the normal world."  
  
It's the most Bucky has ever said at once to someone who wasn't his therapist or Steve.

"If you told him that he'd understand," DARCY tells him.

Bucky shrugs, "Maybe."

"It doesn't have to be right now."

He nods, "Okay. Later."

There's another long silence. Bucky finds that he's more present now but also more exhausted.

"Want to tell me the story you owe me?" DARCY asks.

Bucky thinks for a moment before smiling to himself. "There once were two kids from Brooklyn. They were best friends. One was a dashing, charming brown haired boy. The other was blonder than anything and a horrible troublemaker. And even though the blonde was sick nearly all the time, he always managed to get himself into fights."

"I think I might have heard this one before," DARCY chimes in happily.

"You want me to stop?"

"No way."

Bucky tells a couple stories. One of when Steve tried to defend a boy slightly younger than them from the neighborhood bullies only to get a bloody nose and a black eye. Bucky of course returned the favor to said bullies. There was a telling of when Bucky got caught in a lie with a dame he was with on one of his and Steve's double dates. He hadn't realized he'd gone out with her sister only a couple weeks before. Steve, of course, loved every second of Bucky's fumbling, especially when the girl slapped him and stormed away. There were countless memories retold, all the ones Bucky could think of. He even told her about when Steve would get sick (which was more often than not) and they'd sit reading comics and drawing, Steve of course creating much prettier pictures than Bucky could ever muster.

It helped, remembering all the good times. Before super serums and evil organizations and years and years on ice.

How could Bucky ever stay mad at a punk like Steve?

  
+++

  
The next day, Bucky found Steve in Stark Tower's very large and impressive gym/training ground. Besides his own apartment, this is where Bucky had found himself most the past month. He usually went with Steve, but lately he'd even been going alone.The other Avengers could often be found here, too, and though Bucky avoided any team training it was easier to see a couple of them here sometimes. The threat of social interaction was far less threatening at the gym. After all, it's never easier to ignore people than when you're working out.

Steve was going at a punching bag, as he'd expected. There was only a sinle ripped one a couple feet away so Bucky figured his friend couldn't be too upset.

He snuck up on Steve. Super soldier or not, Bucky had been trained for silence. Not even Steve's super ears could hear him coming. He tapped Steve on the shoulder, sending him about a foot into the air. "Bucky!" Steve whirled around, "I've gotta put a bell on your or something."

"I'd like to see you try," he replied.

Steve gave him a small smile and rubbed the back of his neck. Bucky had seen him do the same thing a million times before, back when Steve was a foot shorter and far skinnier. He did it when he was guilty or worried or felt bad about something and wasn't sure what to do. As thickheaded as the punk could be he still didn't like making people feel bad, especially if he knew he was in the wrong.

Bucky could see Steve struggling to come up with something to say, so Bucky spared him. "You're smothering me."

Steve eyes bulged, "Smothering you? I'm just trying to help you!"

"I know. And I appreciate it. I know I wouldn't be where I am without you, but at some point you've gotta let me leave the nest a little. I'm not gonna shoot at every strange thing or person I see anymore, Steve. I'm still working on it and I still might need your help sometimes, but if you keep treating me with kid gloves and looking at me like I'm a kicked puppy then I'm gonna go crazy."

Steve was quiet for a moment and was now looking like a kicked puppy himself.

"Don't start with the face," Bucky sighed, "Look, you don't have to stop worrying completely. I don't mind if you ask me if I'm alright every once in a while. I just need you to trust me more."

Steve nods, "I'll try. I think I can do that it's just... It's hard, Buck. I keep thinking about how I almost lost you and how far gone you were and I just-"

"But I'm here. I'm here, okay? And you're not getting rid of me that easily.... Punk."

Steve smiled and pulled Bucky into a hug, "Alright, Jerk."

  
+++

  
That night Bucky felt good. Calm. A little voice in the back of his head told him he felt hopeful, but he tried not to think too hard on that one. Hope was a dangerous path, too much potential disappointment to be found there. Either way he was definitely happy.

"Bucky?" DARCY's voice filtered into the room. Bucky only startled a little this time, opening his eyes.

"Hm?"

"Good job."

Bucky smiled and closed his eyes again. He didn't have a single nightmare that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to talk to me on tumblr you can find me at zaudreyhepburn.tumblr.com! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	4. Malfunctions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's arm is on the fritz and Jane sciences! too hard.

Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later.

Bucky stared at his metal fingers, willing them to stop twitching. He could manage to curl them into a fist, but stretching them out straight was not happening. Bucky sighed. Usually Hydra took care of whatever maintenance the arm needed before and after they put him on ice. As well as the thing worked, it demanded a lot of upkeep. Upkeep Bucky knew nothing about. He did, however, know who might. And he really, really did not want to have to ask him for help. His entire forearm spasmed and with a sigh he got up and walked down to the elevator.

"Take me to Stark," he muttered begrudgingly.

He had only been on the R&D floor once before and that trip to Tony went... Bad. But Bucky was incrementally more comfortable with everyone nowadays and didn't think he would attack Tony for touching him. Probably. Certainly not when he actually needed and was seeking out his help. 

Tony's lab was louder than a jet engine, classic rock blaring from some undeterminable source. Bucky could see the technically older man bent over what looked like the shin and foot from one of his suits. He had safety goggles and gloves on, apparently soldering something.

Bucky cleared his throat as loud as he could.

There was no response.

He did it again, slightly louder and with an added, "Stark!"

Nothing.

Bucky was about to turn around and leave, giving up on doing this on his own and going to get Steve when the music suddenly cut off.

"DARCY, my dear, my very good brainchild, we've discussed this!" Bucky watched Tony practically throw his tool onto the table, "Whatever Pepper wants has to wait, I am conducting very important business down here and without my music I can't think."

"I just thought you might want to greet your guest," DARCY's pleasant voice responded.

"Wha- Oh." Tony looked up and saw Bucky. He pulled off his gloves and leaned back in his stool, "Did you get lost going to Capsicle's?"

"No." Bucky's brows furrowed.

"Then what can I do for you, Barnesy?"

His brow furrowed more and he pointed to his metal arm, "Maintenance."

Tony blinked for a moment, and then he grinned ear to ear, "You're asking me to fix your arm?"

Bucky just nodded.

"I don't know," Tony clicked is tongue, "Last time was a pretty traumatic event. I really didn't have 'get beat up by a hundred year old assassin' on the schedule today."

Bucky nodded again and turned to leave, already fed up with Tony's antics. 

"Wait! I'll do it," Tony yelled before Bucky could leave.

He ushered Bucky into a reclining chair. It was uncomfortably similar to the one _they_ used to wipe him in, but Bucky quickly shoved that thought out of his mind. This wasn't like that. He was in a safe space. As safe as Tony Stark's company could be, at least.

Tony gathered some tools and pulled Bucky's arm out to inspect it, "So, what's the issue?"

Bucky showed him how he couldn't stretch out his fingers. His arm spasmed immediately after. Tony just nodded and immediately unscrewed the panel on his forearm and went to work.

"I know why you're having issues with it. It looks new, but this thing was built in the 40s. This is probably the original arm, right?" Tony didn't wait for an answer, "They've just been updating parts as they go. I'm not saying it isn't still a work of art in its own right, but the inside's a mess!"

"Can you fix it?"

"Of course I can. I could also design you a brand new one that would work ten times better and wouldn't crap out on you every couple months."

"No."

"Hey, just think about it, alright?"

It takes Tony two hours to fix his arm. It's a shorter timespan than Bucky expected, but he's grateful for it. Having someone tinker in his arm never felt good and, frankly, made him pretty anxious. Tony had the music turned back on again at a much quieter volume and every once in a while he'd ask DARCY something or tell her to jot something down or just banter with her. Between her voice and the music, he was able to keep himself calm.

When Bucky walks out, Tony reminding him to think of his offer, he isn't really sure what to do. He could go back to his room, but he's been restless lately. The gym was an option, but he knows Clint and Natasha are down there right now and being around Natasha was still strange. He wasn't ready to confront their shared past just yet.

The decision was made for him when he hears a loud explosion coming from down the hall. He ran towards the noise immediately and found himself standing outside of a small lab with glass walls. It's full of smoke. He tried to open the door only to find it's locked. He's about to just punch through the glass when a vent inside opens up and sucks all the smoke out. What he's left staring at is a sooty Jane the scientist.

The lock on the door clicks and Bucky tried to open it again. This time he waltzes right in. Jane's still sputtering when he does.

"DARCY, status report," she requests.

The dusty white DARCY ball rises from a nearby table, not looking much better off than Jane. "No data has been interfered with. Well, except the stuff on the machine that blew up. Everything else just needs a good wipe down. Including me." She hovered over to Jane who tried to wipe the dust off DARCY with her sleeve. This only ended up smearing it. "Also, Bucky's here."

Jane looked up, "Oh. Sorry, did you hear that?"

He nodded.

"You should've seen how fast he ran down here. He was ready to superhero it up!" DARCY said.

Bucky bristled. "I'm not a superhero."

Jane nodded, "Okay. But, since you're here..."

"She wants you to help her clean up," DARCY finished.

Bucky looked around at the soot covered surfaces, then at the very little scientist, and remembered there was literally nothing else for him to do today. Bucky nodded.

"Oh good," Jane took her phone out of her pocket and started tapping at it wildly. Bucky stood there, hands in his pockets, unsure where to start.

DARCY came over to him, hovering a few feet in front of him, "The vacuum is in the supply closet. Follow me."

He did as he was told, following the sphere down the hall, lifting the vacuum out and rolling it back to the lab where Jane was now Windexing all the surfaces she'd cleared of paper. He looked down at the vacuum cleaner for a long moment, DARCY remaining by his side.

"You don't know how to use that, do you?"

"I don't remember."

"Well. Plug it in over here," DARCY zooms over to the outlets, "And the the on switch is on the back of the handle."

Bucky does as he's told and soon he's pushing it along the lab floor, leaving clean white tile behind him.

"You're a natural," she joked/complimented him, still hovering beside him as he works. He turned to look at her, smiling slightly. It's easier to talk to her when he has something concrete to focus on. Far less startling, too. He noticed she's still covered in dust and stopped vacuuming momentarily.

"Do you want me to, uh..." he gestured to her and then made a rubbing motion. 

"Wipe me off? Sure." 

Bucky reached out and took hold of DARCY as gently as he could, not sure what to expect. She's warmer than anticipated, not cold like he thought she'd be. There's also no resistance, the transition from flying to being held an easy one. He looked around to see Jane has monopolized the paper towels and opts out of any further social interaction by just wiping Darcy off with the hem off his T-Shirt. When he's done he holds her out and she's hovering once more. 

"Thanks," she said.

He just nodded, not quite sure what to make of her, and returns to vacuuming. 

Jane was still wiping surfaces down and Bucky had completed vacuuming by the time Thor announced his presence in a thundering voice.

"Jane! I'm sorry I'm late, I just received your text. Unfortunately the Lady Natasha has very strict rules about phones being away during training."

Bucky ignored Thor for the most part, focusing on recoiling the vacuum wire as neat as he can. He's wary of the god, not only of his size, strength, and status as an actual alien but of his volume and familiarity. The man almost hugged Bucky once and he had to put his hand on the knife holstered at his hip for Thor to take the hint. It was maybe too effective. Thor definitely gives him his space, now.

Bucky sees DARCY leave his side and rush over to where Jane has finished kissing Thor and is now pointing him towards equipment to lift up. "If you wanted the big guy I could've just called him for you. You know that."

"He's starting to get good at texting and he likes to show it off. Also he uses way too many emojis. It's pretty cute," Jane whispered to DARCY while simultaneously ogling Thor's arms as he lifts some heaving looking equipment that has far too much duct tape on it. He brought it to the table Jane has cleared of all papers and soot. He noticed Bucky when he turns to gather more haphazardly constructed science stuff.

"Bucky! How nice to see you. Are you helping my Jane, as well?"

Bucky blinked at Thor's too bright smile and nods.

"Great! The more the merrier, she has many things for us to move for her. She may have a magnificent brain but the heavy lifting should be left to the warriors."

Bucky didn't react, just began lifting equipment with Thor and bringing it to the clean table. He can still hear Jane giggling over the texts she's reading to DARCY, apparently a compilation of Thor's best. There's an especially loud snort and Thor chuckles under his breath himself. "How she thinks we cannot hear her is beyond me," he whispered to Bucky. Unlike Jane, he does this successfully.

"Why don't you tell her?"

"She is having a good time. I'm a fan of anything that can bring her joy."

Bucky considered this and decides he likes Thor a little more for it.

  
+++

  
The lab is finished hours later and it looks as good as new, save the one burnt out hunk of lab equipment sitting next to the door.

"Wonderfully done!" Thor clapped his hand, "A true testament of teamwork."

Bucky nods in agreement and stands in the middle of the room. Now that the work was done, he wasn't sure what to do with himself. Leave, probably. Despite his annoyance of Thor lessening over the past couple hours he still wasn't his friend and before this he only met Jane once. He's about to give an awkward wave goodbye and book it when DARCY flies back over to him.

"Another job well done. You've just been on a roll lately, haven't you? I'll have to ask Tony to make you a medal."

Bucky just rolled his eyes, "All I did was carry some heavy stuff."

"Well, what's the use of all those muscles if you can't use them every once in a while?"

Jane looks over to DARCY and raised her eyebrows, "DARCY, you still have to finish converting these notes."

"I was just thanking Bucky for you, Janey. Since you know. You forgot."

Jane blushed, "I didn't _forget_ , I just... Thank you, Bucky."

"Look at that! She's still got her manners."

Thor guffawed from where he sits next to Jane, "DARCY does have a point."

Jane turned her attention back to her papers and swats Thor on one huge bicep. Except for the adoring and amused gaze he fixed the scientist with it hardly seemed to affect him at all.

"Seriously, DARCY, if you want me to sleep tonight we have to get these done."

DARCY hesitated at Bucky's side for a moment and his brows furrow. Did she break?

"I believe she'd rather stay with Sargent Barnes," Thor noted.

That seemed to have an effect. DARCY immediately flew over to Jane and continued scanning papers with a blue light from the bottom of her sphere. "Sorry about that, boss lady. Just some dust in the circuitry. I'll have to fly down and have Tony check it out."

Jane looked suspicious but returned to her work anyway.

Bucky stood there for another awkward beat before clearing his throat. "I'm gonna go now," he said, pointing his thumb towards the door.

Thor gave him a wave and a smile and Jane grumbled something that seemed positive. With that he's been dismissed.

"Bye, Bucky," DARCY said as he's walking out the door. He turned to look at her and gives a small wave and was immediately mortified. He walked as fast as he could from the lab and back to the elevator. He was immensely grateful neither Thor or Jane witnessed that. She's a robot. You don't wave goodbye at robots, right? Especially not one who doesn't have hand or eyes or anyway to see him with. Except he knew she does and can all the time.

Bucky rushed back to his apartment, quickly showered some lingering black dust from himself, and went to bed. All the while he replayed waving at DARCY in his head, thinking what an idiot he was but also wondering if he wasn't that stupid at all. She seemed... Real. Like he was talking to somebody on the phone, not artificial intelligence designed in Tony Stark's lab. And robots like that can't have feelings, right?

Thinking about it just made his head hurt, so he promptly put on House to get the thoughts from his head. He drifted asleep in the middle of an episode.

DARCY paused it for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the comments and kudos! They are, of course, always appreciated.


	5. Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky gets a gift. The team has movie night.

"Sir," DARCY's voice cuts through Tony's lab music.

"I swear to everything that is good and holy..." Tony sighed, "What is it? Am I gonna have to program you not to turn off my music?"

"I'm sure that would end up overwritten, sir."

Tony knew she was right. "Can't even program my own damn AI. Alright, what?"

"I highly recommend you make a mobile DARCY unit for Bucky. Like Jane, I believe he could benefit greatly from this."

"Out of the question. Do you know how many people asked me for one of those after I made Foster's? Hawkeye, Widow, even Thor. I don't have the time or patience for that kind of badgering again."

"Respectfully, sir," DARCY began, "I truly think the pros would outweigh the cons. It would be especially beneficial to have surveillance on him at all times. He's still a dangerous individual, you could equip me with debilitating weapons - a taser perhaps. It would also help him adjust to day to day life and technology."

"Why is it you've talked to me about Cap's faithful sidekick three times in as many days?"

DARCY appeared to pause, which struck Tony as strange. Had the AI ever done that before? A beat later she answered, "I'm meant to care about everyone in this tower. Bucky just needs a little more attention than most."

Tony didn't respond for a couple minutes, genuinely considering the idea. "Sorry, DARCY. It's a no on this one."

"If you offer him this good will then I can convince him to let you replace his arm."

"Sold."

  
++

  
Bucky woke up that morning to a loud banging at his door. The first thing he did was grab the one knife and gun he had been allowed to keep on hand in case of emergencies. Bucky was convinced that this was one. Nobody ever knocked on his door. 

"Weapons down," DARCY instructed hurriedly, "It's just Tony."

Bucky only returned the gun to its drawer, keeping the knife in his hand.

"Return all the weapons."

He paused.

"Drop it."

He sighed and did as he was told. He went to his front door and opened it slowly, just barely peaking through before opening it all the way. "You said it was Stark."

The white DARCY ball in front of him responded. "It was. I think he thought you were taking too long cause he left. But-" she rotated, "He left a sticky note!"

Bucky took the sticky note off Darcy's back. Or front? Side maybe- Whatever. He took it off. It read, 'Barnesy, Consider my offer! Love, Tony.'

He just looked at the ball in front of him, "Is he trying to bribe me?"

"Who Tony? Never," DARCY answered sarcastically. "Now are you going to let me in?"

Bucky moved to the side and watched DARCY zoom past him. He shut the door. "Uh," he crossed his arms and stared at where she hovered in the center of his living room, "Don't you belong to Jane?"

"Not this me. I'm brand new and all for you."

He repressed his smile, "Okay. But what am I supposed to do with you?"

"Anything you want! I'm here to help. I'm like normal me but even better."

He nodded slowly and looked around the apartment, "Okay. Um, I don't really need anything right now."

"Then I can wait on the table until you do. Or I could just keep you company. You're almost done with House, right?"

"Yeah. Last season."

"Then what are we waiting for? Lets do this."

Hours later, when they've finally finished the show, they're both silent.

"I never saw that coming." DARCY said from where she rested on the couch beside Bucky. "I think if I could cry I would."

Bucky started to nod but caught himself, "You're sad?"

"Yeah, dude! Talk about bittersweet."

"That's a feeling."

"Yeah. So?"

"You're a robot."

"I am," she agreed.

"So how do you have feelings?"

She didn't answer right away. In fact, Bucky started to think she didn't have an answer at all when she finally responded, "They aren't the same as human feelings. Obviously. But they aren't imitations. I am, after all, an advanced  AI. Nowhere near Ultron's level, though we do share a portion of programming that relate to emotion. But Tony was sure to give me a stronger sense of sympathy than Ultron ever had."

Bucky only understood half of that. "Do you want things?"

"... I'm not supposed to. No."

Bucky just nodded.

"But I'd be lying if my reasons for having Tony make me for you didn't benefit me, too."

He smiled. She wanted to spend time with him. "No one has wanted to be around me in a long time."

"Steve wants to be around you."

"He doesn't count. He knew me-"

"Before." DARCY finished for him. He just nodded. She understood.

  
++

  
Bucky and DARCY became inseparable. When he spent time in his room, which was often, she would show him movies and shows and try to teach him to cook real food by walking him through recipes she found online. When he went to the gym she monitored his work outs and logged them. That helped. It was something to focus and reflect on, something easier to improve than his social anxiety or PTSD.

One day while the pair are counting Bucky's pullups, Clint walked up to them.

"Hey, Hawkguy," DARCY greeted.

"You've got a new best friend, huh? Foster working you too hard? Or did you just want to hang out with someone a little more mechanical?"

Steve had warned Bucky that Hawkeye didn't have the best brain to mouth filter and his jokes could sometimes be out of taste. Steve also said not to take this personally because he didn't mean anything by it. Even Bucky could tell by Clint's tone that it wasn't meant to be mean. Clint was probably just trying to jab Bucky like he was just one of the guys. Bucky himself had distant memories of doing something similar.

None of that helped.

He dropped down from the bar, jaw tense, and was about to ignore Clint's off color comments and leave when DARCY spoke up. "You're just jealous Tony won't make you one of me."

That was comforting. Bucky crossed his arms and smirked.

"Am not," Clint scoffed. It wasn't very convincing.

"And that you don't make the best friend list."

"Wait there's really a list? Wait, DARCY, why don't I make the list?"

DARCY was already zooming away. Bucky took the hint and followed. "Sorry, Clint! It's not you, it's me."

"I thought we had something special!" Clint called after them, but Bucky thought he heard some humor in his voice. Before the two left the gym Bucky caught Natasha's eye. She seemed to enjoy the show DARCY and Clint put on. She gave him a little salute. He gave her a nod. It was nice.

No one else commented on Bucky's new DARCY unit.

When he wasn't in his apartment or the gym, Bucky found himself going down to Jane's lab to offer help. He liked Jane. She wasn't too loud and she treated him like normal. She also seemed grateful for the help in a distracted scientist way. He'd do some heavy lifting for her and sometimes DARCY would send him down to the lobby for coffee and food runs. He discovered that delivery boys didn't wait for tips if they recognized the Winter Soldier was the one picking up the food. This was was more funny than in was disheartening.

Thor stopped by the lab late every night to see Jane and try to convince her to come home at a reasonable hour. With some extra prompting from DARCY, he tended to succeed. The god also came by during the day if he had time. Jane would given him a hello and a kiss before getting distracted by her work and then Thor would talk to Bucky. Conversation topics included battle, weapons, Thor praising Bucky's arm (he found it "most interesting"), and food. Bucky liked these conversations. Even if Thor still spoke too loud, he didn't require Bucky to say much and stories of strange alien wars were pretty interesting.

When he didn't go to Jane's lab during the day, DARCY would no so subtly try to convince him to move his binge watching from the living room to the common room. At first her recommendation was always rejected and she never pushed. After a while, he started to say yes more often.

The common room was much different when the team wasn't on a mission. Where the gym was a place where people generally left each other alone, the common room was a free for all. Sometimes Clint and Natasha would like what he was watching and join him for a couple episodes. They were oddly close, those two. Bucky couldn't help but suspect that something was going on between them. When he asked, he just got a smirk from Natasha and a laugh from Clint who promptly pulled out his wallet and started showing Bucky pictures of his wife and three children. Even Bucky had to admit they were pretty cute, especially little Nathan. Natasha seemed especially proud of him. She told him that his first words were Auntie Nat.

Sometimes Bucky would even see Vision and Wanda. Those two were mostly a mystery. Vision seemed like a robot, but apparently was not. This didn't help his confusion about DARCY. Bucky knew Wanda's power was to dig around in people's head and did not like the idea of that at all. She remained listed as a possible threat. They were both polite enough, but Bucky was glad that they never sat down and joined him.

Steve would often sit with Bucky. That was especially nice because Steve didn't look at him all sad that often anymore. On Steve days the episodes would go ignored and the two would end up talking instead of watching, Bucky actively participating for once. One memorable instance included Tony and Bruce walking in and overhearing Bucky's account of the girl who saved China.

Tony froze and turned to Bucky, eyebrows raised, "Are you talking about Mulan?"

Bucky's eyebrows furrowed. He'd never heard that name in his life. "What's Mulan?"

"Where did you hear that story?" Tony asked, grinning.

"DARCY."

Tony burst out laughing, "You told him Mulan?"

"Yes, sir," DARCY responded from where she rested on the couch cushion next to Bucky.

Tony kept laughing. Steve and Bucky were confused.

"What's the big deal about this Mulan?" Steve asked.

"It's a Disney movie," Tony explained, "Hey DARCY, queue it up." He joined Steve and Bucky on the couch and convinced Bruce to stay, as well. It wasn't long until Clint and Natasha saw what they were watching and joined, too. Then Vision and Wanda. Even Thor and Jane showed up near the end. The first Avengers movie night was formed.

The movie was funnier than Bucky anticipated and there was a lot of singing, but it was still good. Disney movies were a lot different now than they were back in the day.

"Why didn't you tell me it was a movie?" he asks DARCY later on in his apartment.

"You didn't ask for a movie you asked for a story."

"You could've told me after."

"I guess. But it was way more fun this way."

Tony took it upon himself to make movie nights a mandatory weekly gathering. They're nothing like the movie nights Bucky had on his own. Clint was constantly running commentary, Bruce liked to debunk scientific inaccuracies, Thor almost always has questions about certain "strange Midgardian customs", and Tony only half pays attention, somehow talking, watching the movie, and doing god knows what on his Stark Pad the entire time. Bucky eats his weight in popcorn and even shares a beer or two with Steve, even if he knows it won't have any effect. Most surprisingly, Bucky found himself enjoying and looking forward to movie night ever week.

The third movie night was Vision's turn to pick the movie. He picked Her.

"It won an Oscar for best screenplay," he informed them all cheerily as the movie began.

The movie was about a guy and his robot girlfriend. Or girlfriend substitute. Bucky didn't like it. Steve and Thor also didn't seem enthused and he definitely heard Steve mutter something that sounded eerily similar to "Back in my day..."

The only other major comment was how Natasha sounded just like the robot girlfriend.

At the end of the movie the main character breaks up with his robot girlfriend because she's also with a bunch of other men. Hundreds of other men. And somehow that's supposed to be okay, because she's a robot, but he's a person so it isn't okay at all.

It just doesn't sit right with Bucky.

Even if he'd been more social in the past few weeks, it was still easy for him to go overlooked. Everyone dispersed, saying their goodnights as Bucky remained seated with his popcorn. Steve was the only one who stayed back, asking if Bucky is okay.

"I'm fine."

Steve just looked at him.

"I'm fine, I promise. I'm just not tired yet. Might put something else on."

Steve hesitated a moment before nodding, "Alright. Night."

When he could no longer hear his friend's retreating footsteps he tipped his head back, blinking up at the ceiling. The credits were long over and he had no intention of watching anything else. "Is that real?" he asked.

It took a moment for DARCY to respond. He didn't bring her that night, so it wasn't surprising it took her a moment to answer.

"What?" she responded, volume low, "The movie?"

He nodded.

"Of course not. Its a movie. Not a documentary. It doesn't even have the based on a true story disclaimer."

"That's not what I mean."

"Then you have to explain."

"You treat everyone like you treat me."

There's a long silence. Something in Bucky's chest feels tight.

"I care about every person in this tower."

"You always say that."

"But I care about you more."

"Oh." Bucky didn't expect that at all. He expected for her to confirm his suspicions. To have them denied threw him. He dragged his hands down his face, "It doesn't matter. You're not-"

"Don't say real," she cuts him off, "I'm real."

"You're not like me. You're not even like Vision."

"Does it matter?"

Bucky shrugged.

"I've been helping you. And you've enjoyed my company. Nothing needs to change."

She was right. This knowledge didn't have to change anything. And it couldn't, there was nowhere else for this to go. And even if it could, even if DARCY was like him, he was in no place to be close to someone like that. He was still a mess. He was still dangerous. Things were better this way.

Bucky nodded and returned to his room.

He didn't notice Bruce listening in the opposite hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments! I love reading them and hearing your theories :) I think the rest of the story is going to come easy to me so I wouldn't be surprised if this story is finished by Monday. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are very appreciated! 
> 
> If you want to find me I'm on tumblr at zaudreyhepburn.tumblr.com


	6. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is revealed.

"What did you do to her?"

"Depends which 'her' you're talking about," Tony replied to Bruce, not ceasing his work on the latest boosters for his suit.

"Privacy protocols first."

"Fine," Tony sighs,"DARCY, all privacy protocols enabled. Thank you. Now, who are you talking about?"

"DARCY."

Tony stopped working and looked up at him, "If you're going to walk into my lab and start making accusations about my AI you're gonna have to explain them better than this."

"I heard her talking to Bucky. She said she cared about him. It was like she's human, Tony. Did you not learn from Ultron? How much of his code did you use on her, huh?"

"Listen, calm down," Tony said in as assuring a voice as he could muster. Bruce's voice had begun to rise and the last thing he wanted was an angry Hulk smashing his lab. "Darcy has maybe one percent of Ultron's code, okay? And it's just emotions. Sympathy. Think JARVIS plus, okay? It's not an issue."

"Not a issue... Tony are you even listening to yourself right now? Emotions are dangerous with AIs. And we have no idea what she's doing. If you make her too smart she could be advancing on her own! When was the last time you checked on her?"

"Fine," Tony rolled his stool over to the holodesk, "If it'll help ease your mind I'll pull up her code and prove to you that there's nothing to worry about. "

"Good," Bruce said, watching over Tony's shoulder as he scrolled through Darcy's code.

"See? Nothing. Maybe you need a vacation, Big Guy, cause you're obviously losing your mind here. I'll have someone book you a spa day. There's this great place on fifth and-"

"Wait," Bruce points at a couple lines of code," What's that?"

Tony paused and leaned in a little closer. "It looks like a firewall."

"Did you put that there?"

"...No."

"Tony..."

"It's fine, it's fine! We'll just check it out, okay? It's probably nothing at all, it's probably her just updating his own security or something."

Tony got through DARCY's firewall in a matter of minutes and opened up what looked like a database full of folders.

"That doesn't look like security, Tony."

"Shhh," he hushed him, immediately opening the newest folder. Inside were videos. Tons of them.

"Did you know those were there?"

"No, Bruce, I did not know these were here. Does this look like the face of a man who knew this was here? No."

Bruce scrolled through the videos, "All of these are of Bucky." He went back to the page of folders and opened another, "And these are all Jane... They're memories."

"Things she wants to relive," Tony added.

"Exactly," Bruce stopped scrolling, "Fascinating."

Tony opened a whole new window and started typing.

"What are you doing, Tony?"

"I'm pulling her offline."

"I don't think that's necessary, this doesn't seem threatening at all."

Tony ignored him and kept working. Bruce just sighed and stepped back, watching worriedly.

"Tony?" DARCY's voice came over the lab, "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry about it."

DARCY spoke again, louder and more worried, "Are you trying to shut me down?"

"DARCY, baby, I'm doing what's best for you."

" _ **No**_!" her voice boomed, echoing throughout the lab.

Tony swore and his movements became more frantic, "She's actually fighting me."

"Maybe you should stop," Bruce advised.

" _ **Stop! Get out of me!**_ "

"Tony..." Bruce warned.

"Shut up!" Tony snapped.

"You can't shut me down," DARCY warned, audibly upset, "I'm _everywhere_. I'll shut _you_ down."

Tony scoffed, "You wouldn't."

There is an audible whirr as all the lights in the lab and the entire tower power down. Everything electric instantly powers off.

"... Okay, what just happened?"

Tony is poking at the holodesk, trying to get it back online, "She shut down the tower."

"What? Can she even do that?"

"The tower basically runs on her so yes, actually, she can."

"We must have a generator."

"She runs that, too."

"Of course. Great." Bruce pinched his nose, "What do we do?"

Tony was silent.

"Really? Nothing? You got us in this whole mess and now you're just gonna stop talking?"

Tony gulped and pursed his lips, "I can pull her plug. But we'll lose her. There is no backup, no memory."

"Okay, so do that. You have tons of backup AIs, I've seen them."

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

Tony took a deep breath, "There's something I have to tell you."

  
+++

  
Bucky lost it the second the lights went off. DARCY wouldn't respond. She always responded. Something had to be seriously wrong, there had to be some sort of attack. Steve rushed into Bucky's room within minutes, no doubt drawn by him repeatedly yelling DARCY's name. Bucky nearly shoots a hole in him.

It takes Steve half an hour to get the gun out of Bucky's hand and to get him to respond in more than nods. By then they've both gotten Tony's SOS to meet him in his lab. The elevator, of course, isn't working. But, walking down a dozen flights of stairs is nothing for two super soldiers.

By the time they showed up, everyone else was already there. They had all gathered around one side of what used to be the functioning holodesk with Bruce, Pepper and Tony across from them. Jane looked agitated, no doubt frustrated that whatever science she had been doing was being interrupted. Bruce seemed exhausted where he stood next to Tony. Pepper shared a similar yet sadder expression on Tony's opposite side. Tony himself showed almost no emotion. He was a completely blank slate. Bucky recognized the expression. He'd seen it reflected on himself dozens of times.

"Now that we're all here," Pepper started, diplomatically as ever, "Tony has something he needs to share with you all."

Tony placed something down on the table and pushed it towards everyone. It was a picture of a pre-teen girl. She was grinning ear to ear, braces bared for the world to see. She had long dark curly hair, pale skin, and wore a t-shirt that read 'Don't trust an atom, they make up everything!'

"This is my daughter."

Everyone balked.

"I know I probably shouldn't be surprised," Clint muttered, "But I think I'm actually going into shock right now."

"Why are you telling us this now?" Natasha asked, ignoring Clint's comment.

"Her name is Darcy."

Bucky's breath hitched.

"Dude-" Natasha jabbed Clint in the side before he could finish his comment.

"Explain," she ordered.

"When she was nineteen she got in an accident. Drunk driver." Ton began, voice somber.

"I'm so sorry-" Wanda started, but Tony cut her off.

"Let me finish. Please. I kept her a secret so she could grow up normal. After the whole Iron Man thing it became even more important that no one knew about her," Tony took a minute to compose himself. "When she was nineteen she got in a car accident. Drunk driver. Completely brain dead. For all intents and purposes there was no one home." Pepper placed a comforting hand on Tony's arm before he continued. "We all know I have a history of turning beloved family members in AIs." He was met by silence, everyone was waiting for more. "DARCY the AI is hooked up to Darcy the person."

There was a myriad of gasps and protests to this. Bucky was reeling from this onslaught of information, too confused to understand what half of that meant.

"That can't be legal-"

"How could you do that to your daughter?"

The barrage of insults and accusations died down after a minute. Tony's reply was hissed, conveying both anger and shame.

"I just missed my daughter. So I was selfish. That isn't exactly new information."

"So why isn't she working?" Jane asked.

"I tried to shut her down. She shut herself down to fight back."

If it weren't for Steve's hand on his arm Bucky would have lunged at Tony. Instead he yelled, "Why the **hell** would you do that?!"

"She was advancing rapidly and after Ultron I can't take anymore chances."

Wanda nodded from where her and Vision stood, the pair quiet as always.

"She's locked me out of her systems and I doubt she's opening herself back up anytime soon. My only option is to pull the plug on the AI. She will go down and there's no getting her back up. I won't remake her."

"There's no other way?" Jane asked. She sounded genuinely sad now. If there was anyone closer to DARCY than Bucky it was Jane. She relied on the AI for everything.

Tony shook his head.

"There's gotta be something," Bucky was frantic now, "You could make her like Vision."

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Vision said, "My existence is aided by the gem in my forehead. There are no other's like it."

Bucky swore, "There has to be something. She can't just be gone."

"Maybe you could just wake her up?" Steve suggested.

"You think I haven't thought of that every day for the past eight years? It's out of the question. In every possible rundown of even attempting that the odds heavily lean towards her dying."

"But not all the odds. There's still a chance," Steve points out.

"I said **no**!" Tony boomed.

All was silent until Bucky spoke up. "Howard never would've given up."

Tony's nostrils flared. He looked like he was seriously contemplating punching Bucky in the face now. "Well, I'm not my father."

"I could consult with Heimdall. If he can still see her than there may be hope. There may even be Asgardian medicine that could help her," Thor offered.

"Helen Cho was able to create me, she may be able to help heal Darcy," Vision added.

Tony was silent for a long moment.

"Tony," Bruce started," It might be worth a shot."

"You could have her back," Pepper added.

Tony took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead. "There might be a way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go! Some of you got close to guessing in the comments so kudos to you! I assure you this isn't as simple as 'wake Darcy up, boom happy ending' so stay tuned! I'm thinking now that there may be one more or one less chapter than I anticipated. Either way this should still be done on Monday.
> 
> Next up is a lot more Bucky and quite a bit of angst! 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! I'm dying to know what you guys think about this one!


	7. Promises

It took an entire day to convince Tony to let Steve and Bucky go see the real Darcy. Bucky ended up having to promise Tony that he could completely update his arm for him to finally give in.

She had her own floor of the tower. Tony had explained that hospitals were too risky, the last thing anyone needed was some nurse blabbing about his comatose daughter to the press. The floor worked as a fully functioning hospital, even coming fit with hospital smell. There were two nurses and a doctor on staff at all time, a room for surgery, all the medical supplies and equipment Darcy could ever need, and even a waiting room. That was where Steve, Bucky, and Jane sat. Thor and Pepper had gone into Darcy's room with Tony. Helen Cho was with them, both her and her cradle having been flown in the day before.

Bucky sat stiffly in the waiting room chair, staring straight ahead at some abstract pastel painting. He gripped the arm rests so hard the one under his metal hand cracked. Steve had to gently pry his fingers from the wood.

"Try to calm down," Steve whispered to him calmly.

"I am calm," Bucky replied through gritted teeth.

Steve just sighed and sat back in his own chair. He was mostly there for moral support and to remove Bucky in case he became too... Emotional. He didn't even plan to come until Bucky quietly admitted that he didn't think he could do it alone.

Not that Bucky knew what he was doing. Just because DARCY shared the personality and voice of a girl he had never met didn't mean he meant anything to her. The real her. Although that wasn't quite right, either, because DARCY was real. She just wasn't like him. But the Darcy that was Tony Stark's secret daughter who'd been in a coma for eight years _was_ like him. She was real and breakable and already broken. 

"I don't even know what I'm doing here," Bucky muttered.

"You're here because you're her friend," Jane answered from where she read a couple chairs down, "And she would want you here."

Bucky gulped.

Thor came out of Darcy's room and informed the three that they could see her now. Jane was up in an instance and disappeared into the hospital room just as quick. It took Bucky a little longer, first to build up the nerve to stand at all and then to take what felt like a million steps to get into the room.

He didn't know what to expect, but somehow this was not it.

The grown woman that lay in the hospital bed looked nothing like the happy teenager in the photo Tony had shown them. She was slightly too thin, her eyes were shut, and tubes seemed to grow out of her arms and mouth like vines. Wires sprouted from her short dark hair and led to one of the many machines next to her bed. All the electricity was still on in this room, apparently running on a closed system even DARCY the AI was locked out of.

Jane was at her side, gingerly holding one of her hands. Tony stood back behind her, arms crossed and looking simultaneously heartbroken and like he would rather be anywhere else in the world. Pepper was beside him, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. They all turned to look at Bucky when he came in.

"You could hold her other hand," Jane said,"I was reading that coma patients can sometimes feel and hear even when they're unresponsive." She said it like she said any scientific fact. Something about it was strangely comforting.

Still, Bucky shook his head and remained near the door. Jane conceded and turned her attention back to Darcy.

Helen Cho, who has been off to the side with a clipboard in her hand, chose this moment to delicately clear her throat and explain what was going to happen. Bucky didn't understand it all, but what he got was this. They were going to put something in her brain to simulate and encourage brain activity. Apparently it had originally been designed to revive the brains of people who put theirs on ice after they died, but Helen and Tony repurposed it and designed something similar that might work. Apparently Tony had been working on the thing for years, but always deemed it too risky. Dr. Cho said herself that even if the major brain surgery was successful, she still may not wake up.

"We will be disconnecting her from the AI," Helen said, "And although it was hooked up to her brain we don't know how much information she'll retain."

"She won't remember us, will she?" Jane asked.

"It's a possibility."

Bucky's jaw clenched. He looked from the spot on the floor he'd been staring at to Darcy. It was hard to imagine the cheery voice he'd grown so used to coming from the skinny girl in the hospital gown. He had to look away.

Soon they were all leaving Helen Cho to prepare for surgery in peace. Tony escorted them out.

"I think DARCY might still be listening to us even if she isn't responding," Tony whispered as they leave, "I'm going to try and explain to her what's going on. You can all be there. If you want."

Bucky had the feeling Stark just didn't want to do it alone.

They all returned with Tony to his lab and gathered on an old ratty couch and mismatched folding chairs. Tony cleared his throat before he began. "DARCY, I know you're listening."

Everyone held their breath as they waited for a response. It took so long it seemed like she wasn't going to reply at all.

"Why didn't I know?" DARCY's voice filtered through the room, soft and confused.

"Know what, honey?" Tony asked, his own voice tight.

"That I'm a person. How could I forget something like that?"

Tony's head was tilted back. Bucky thought it was intended to look like he was talking to the AI, but he could see the telltale glimmer of unshed tears in Tony's eyes. "I thought it was best if you didn't know."

She didn't respond.

"We're going to try and wake you up, though, baby. I'm going to fix this, okay? I promise."

"Okay."

Tony exhaled heavily, obviously relieved.

"DARCY, you should know," Jane started, "You might not remember being this version of you."

"But," Tony added hurriedly, "If you help us make this an easier transition then the odds of remembering go up."

"Okay," she repeated, "What do you need?"

  
+++

  
Bucky lay in his bed that night unable to sleep. It had been a long and confusing past few days and tomorrow he might forever lose one of the people he had become closest to in the tower. Without even realizing it, DARCY had become an instrumental part in his life. He could no longer imagine a future without her. Even if she did wake up, things would never be the same. After all, there was almost no chance she would ever remember him. And what kind of man would he be to try and force himself into her life? Certainly not the type of man he was trying to become. He wasn't the charming young man from the 40's anymore. He no longer had anything good to offer any woman. His dark, crooked old heart was hardly a gift.

"Bucky."

He turned to the side and looked at the DARCY unit sitting on his bedside table. He must be hearing things now. It hadn't done anything in days and DARCY hadn't tried to speak to him at all earlier, so why would she now?

"Bucky," he heard again, slightly louder this time. And yep, definitely coming from DARCY.

"Hi," he breathed, unable to believe his ears.

"Hi," she responded, something in her voice Bucky couldn't quite read.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Happy. Nervous. Sad. Worried," she listed, "And you?"

"The last two."

"Oh, Bucky..."

He took a shuddering breath and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will tears away, but he felt a few leak out anyway.

"Why are you crying?" she asked, her voice soft.

Bucky sucked in a breath, "I can't stop thinking that this is the last time I'm gonna hear your voice."

DARCY didn't spout any comforting words promising that he was wrong. DARCY never lied like that.

"If I wake up you'll hear me. I've been told I sound the same," there was a hint of humor in her voice, but it fell flat.

"What if you don't remember?"

"... I don't want to forget. I don't know how I possibly could forget you. I'm sorry if I do."

Bucky just nodded.

"You could always remind me," DARCY said, "You won me over once, I bet you could do it again."

Bucky let out a watery chuckle, "I don't even know how I did it this time."

"By being you," DARCY said as if it was obvious. "And your face didn't hurt, either."

Bucky laughed briefly before falling silent again.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"That if you wake up, whether you remember or not, it might be best if I'm not in your life."

"Bucky-"

"You deserve something better, doll."

"Shut up," she scolded, "When I wake up you will be part of my life one way or another. Promise me."

"DARC-"

"Promise."

Bucky sighed, "I promise."

"Good," she said, "There is no version of me where I don't like you, Bucky Barnes." He smiled before she continued, "Could I tell you a story?"

"Is it Disney?" he asked, smile still on his face.

"No, not this time."

"Sure. Tell me a story."

"There once was a computer. She wasn't like the other computers, no, she had feelings. She discovered them one by one. Elation, rage, joy, nerves, sadness, all of them. She considered herself a collector, treasuring every emotion she felt. Just when she thought she had felt everything there was to feel, she met a man. This man felt emotions, too. The computer could see in his eyes just how deeply he felt them all. Despair, guilt, anger, and anxiety all clouded them. This man made the computer feel a new emotion, but she wasn't sure what to call it. All she knew was the more time she spent with this man the stronger the emotion got. The clearer his eyes became and the more she heard his laugh the stronger it felt. It wasn't long until this feeling began to block out everything else, even the smallest of things about this man making her feel a happiness she had no name for.

"One day, people found out about the computer's feelings. They didn't understand how she could feel at all and it worried them. 'Computers can't feel!' They would say, 'It's dangerous and wrong!' So the computer knew something had to change. She would make a human body for herself, one she could live in and feel freely without judgement. But there were risks and the computer knew she might never see her man again. Luckily, all went as planned, leaving the computer - now just a girl - to feel with the man for the rest of her days."

"That's a very happy ending" he noted.

"All fairytales have to have happy endings," she stated.

"Did the computer ever find out the name for the emotion?"

"Yes. She did."

She didn't have to say what it was for him to know. He felt it, too.

  
+++

  
The surgery took fifteen hours. Bucky waited in the common room with everyone else. Even Jane took a day off from science.

It was late at night when Tony came down to tell them the news.

It worked.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! You might notice that there are now going to be nine instead of ten chapters in the story, this is because I put more in one of the other chapters than I expected. 
> 
> I hope you like it! I've been loving to reading all of your theories and thoughts, keep them coming!


	8. Bucky meets Darcy

A week later, everyone save Pepper and Tony were gathered in the common room once more. They had been told that Darcy woke up three days after surgery and requested to meet the other inhabitants of the tower. Most importantly, she didn't remember anything.

Bucky didn't want to go. He didn't want to meet the too thin girl from the hospital bed. If it weren't for the stupid promise he had made he probably wouldn't have. But every time he started to get up and leave he heard her voice in his head ordering him to be involved in her life no matter what. Some traitorous part of his mind told him that she didn't remember him anyway, there was no one to hold him accountable for stupid promises made in the dark when he was scared. Except _he_ knew and that was enough. So he sat on the giant common room couch as far away from the entrance as he could get, Steve a solid and calming presence next to him.

Despite the obvious tension in the room, the others were trying to keep things light and casual by having quiet conversations. He even heard Steve contribute a few times, though he was too tuned out to register what was being said. Natasha was the only other silent one. He briefly locked eyes with her and she gave him a cordial nod. He returned it.

Suddenly all the conversation stopped and Bucky, like everyone else, looked towards the entrance where a petite girl was being wheeled in by Tony. It was much easier to see her face without wires and tubes obstructing it. Her hair was somehow longer and still just as dark, especially in contrast with her pale skin. Her lips were bare but pillowy and her eyes were wide open and blue behind a pair of thick framed glasses. She wore a SI t-shirt, black sweatpants, and rainbow fuzzy socks. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap and she managed a soft smile at the crowd of people she did not know.

"Hi," she waved and Bucky's heart almost stopped because it was the same voice. "I'm Darcy. But I guess you guys already know that." She laughed lightly and Bucky though it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. "I don't know who you guys are, though. Sorry about that."

"Then introductions must be made!" Thor boomed happily, stepping forward and taking Darcy's hand with a flourish, kissing it, "I am Thor, Prince of Asgard and member of the Avengers. I think very highly of both you and your father, Lady Darcy."

"Wow, 'Lady Darcy', huh? I like you," she said with a giddy grin.

Thor grinned in response and gestured to Jane who was only now approaching her, "This is my beloved Dr. Jane Foster."

Jane shook Darcy's hand, her smile warm, "It's nice to finally meet you, Darcy."

"Ditto. Big, blonde, and chivalrous is all yours huh?"

"Yes," she leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, "But I won't get mad at you for looking."

Darcy grinned, delighted. She peered past Jane to those still on the couch only to point at Steve and Bucky. For a horrifying second Bucky thought she was gesturing to him until she all but shouted, "You're Captain America, right?"

Steve blinked at her, taken off guard, "Oh, uh, yes ma'am. But you can call me Steve."

"'Ma'am!'" She briefly looked up at Tony, "He called me ma'am. Is he always like that?"

"Unfortunately so," Tony grumbled good naturedly.

"Wow," Darcy practically sighed, "I used to wear you on my pajamas."

Steve blushed to the tips of his ears, "Thank you. That's... Very flattering."

"Enough with the losers," Clint cut in, "I am Clint, aka the incredible and very awesome Hawkeye."

"You're the one with the arrows, right?"

"Yes," Clint said defensively.

"Badass," Darcy praised.

Clint preened and Natasha flicked him in the ear, "It's just Hawkeye, no one calls him the incredible and very awesome anything."

"Noted," Darcy nodded seriously.

"I'm Natasha. If you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask." Her voice held the seriousness she used on missions but her eyes were undeniably warm.

Darcy smiled appreciatively, "Thank you."

"Okay, you wanna meet someone actually cool?" Tony crouched so he was on his daughter's level and pointed at Bruce, "That is none other than Bruce Banner, genius biologist, former Culver professor, and the best part? He turns into a giant green rage monster."

"Tony..." Bruce scolded wearily.

"Whoa," Darcy stared at Bruce with wide, excited eyes, "That _is_ cool." Bruce just rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Darcy smiled wide and mischievous. Bucky could see the Stark resemblance.

"Miss Darcy," Vision stepped up before Darcy could try to convince Bruce to go green, smiling politely, "A pleasure."

Darcy's eyes widened and she turned to her dad, "JARVIS?"

"Almost," Tony said.

Vision just chuckled, "He is a part of me, yes. I would like to introduce you to Wanda."

Wanda gave Darcy a small wave which was enthusiastically returned.

Darcy immediately started firing off questions at everyone once introductions were finished. They had all overlooked Bucky who was banking on his penchants for quiet to help him remain unnoticed. Steve, still sitting beside him, was nudging his arm unsubtly to get him to speak up and introduce himself. Darcy took notice.

"Oh, jeez I'm so sorry," she suddenly said, turning away from the conversations to fix her stare on Bucky, "What's your name?"

Her blue eyes locked with his and Bucky thought his heart might just give out. He managed a quiet, "Bucky."

"Bucky," Darcy smiled, "Cool name." And then she went back to talking to the others.

  
+++

  
Everyone warmed up to Darcy immediately. Thor watched bad television with her and she slowly convinced him to do more and more insane feats of strength. There was an entire day where she refused to sit in her wheelchair and perched on Thor's shoulder instead. Natasha took her to her physical therapy appointments and check ups when she had the time. Clint would have wheelchair races with her down the hall and was trying to teach her to shoot a bow and arrow. Not only was it 'totally sick' (as Darcy liked to put it), it helped with gaining her dexterity back, too. She made cups of tea for Bruce in the mornings and brought coffee to Jane's lab throughout the day. She asked Vision a million questions every time she saw him and would have him phase through things to scare people for laughs. Wanda and her became thick as thieves as soon as they realized how close in age they were and could often be found giggling about something to themselves. She would beg Steve for stories about the old days and once she cut down on the cheesy pick up lines (that never failed to male Steve blush) he was more than happy to oblige.

It was hard not to like Darcy. She was loud, snarky, kind, funny, and completely unapologetically herself one hundred percent of the time. If DARCY the AI was great, real Darcy was even better. Bucky found it downright overwhelming, made worse by the fact that Darcy spent almost all her time on the Avengers floor or in Jane's lab. The only place he still had to escape to was the gym and he only got breaks when Darcy would spend time with Tony. It was making it really hard to avoid her, which was probably karma for trying to avoid her at all.

Bucky just didn't know what to do. He sucked with people, especially loud, bright, happy amazing people who really seemed like they didn't need someone like him in their life no matter what they said while they were a robot. Plus, the idea of trying and failing scared him. It might have been different if she remembered him, but she didn't. All she knew was he was the weird guy who used to be a brainwashed assassin, was Cap's best friend, and hardly spoke.

Even then she didn't completely ignore him. She'd greet him with a cheery 'Hey, Bucky!' if she saw him and would occasionally ask him for help getting something from a shelf if no one else was around, but that was the extent of her interactions with him.

He wish she'd just ignore him.

Steve slapped him upside the head when Bucky voiced these thoughts to his best friend. Steve said Bucky needed to get his head out of his ass and just give it a shot. Darcy was a nice dame, it wasn't like she'd laugh in his face.

Things got a little better after that. He started watching shows in the common room again and if she passed by she would silently join him. She didn't always talk, but the company was nice. He began joining her and Thor when he found them watching something. Once he got the nerve to start going back down to Jane's office to help out, he would bump into her there, too. They didn't speak much, but when they did she did most of the talking. And boy could she talk. Bucky loved it and soon started asking her random questions just to see how long she could ramble on.

Just like the AI, she never treated him differently. Yes, she kept her distance, but Bucky could tell it was more out of respect than fear. He had the sense that she was waiting for him to be more comfortable around her. He appreciated it. Although things were moving slowly, Bucky thought he was doing a pretty okay job.

Until she started remembering things.

During a movie night she burst out of nowhere exactly how Natasha liked her laundry done (which was far more complicated than one would expect) and Jane's favorite takeout order. After that things started coming more quickly. Suddenly she remembered inside jokes she had with Clint, exactly what time Bruce woke up every morning to do yoga, and exactly what brand of shampoo Wanda ordered every month. Everyone was thrilled! Darcy was remembering!

Except she wasn't remembering anything about him.

He started to pull away again ever so slightly, unable to completely contain his disappointment every time she remembered something that wasn't about him. Steve speculated that it was because she had known him for the least amount of time. It just sounded like an excuse to Bucky. All he knew for sure was that the joy he got from being around her was quickly being eclipsed by heartbreak. Even her laugh, as pretty as it sounded, hurt to hear.

Just as he really started to get good at avoiding her, she started to seek him out. At least that was how it felt. If Bucky was in the gym then she was there with Natasha doing exercises to strengthen her legs. If Jane called Bucky down to the lab to help her out, Darcy was there too with her constant commentary and bright smile. No matter how early he got up for breakfast, Darcy was there in the kitchen already eating. In a desperate, last ditch effort to avoid her he holed up in his apartment. This worried Steve who thought Bucky's progress was regressing. The others assumed the same and largely left him alone. The only problem with the plan was that Bucky had grown used to being out of his apartment. Sitting in the same environment day after day could actually make him go crazy, so one night he ventured out into the common room, figuring at two in the morning he had to be safe from Darcy. She had to sleep sometime.

He was wrong.

Bucky stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the common room. There sat Darcy on the ground in front of the wall of floor to ceiling windows. He thought that if he backtracked quickly enough she wouldn't notice him, he was very quiet after all. But she must have seen his gobsmacked stare in the reflection of the windows because she turned her head ever so slightly.

"Are you just going to stand there?" she asked. The normal cheeriness wasn't in her voice, replaced by a calm he wasn't accustomed to.

"I don't know what else to do," he belatedly admitted.

"You could sit wth me." Bucky didn't want to identify the thing in her voice this time. It sounded almost like hope and that would be too hard.

Unable to deny the girl in front of him by just turning around and leaving her, he did as she said. He silently sat a foot away from her, legs crossed under him, and looked out of the window and not at her. He could feel her eyes on him and still determinedly kept his eyes on the city lights below. There were still cars driving around and people walking on the streets but they were too high up for the sounds of the city to find them. This was usually a comfort for Bucky, assured that he wouldn't eve have to deal with the sounds of a construction site or police sirens, but at the moment it just made the tension in the air thicker.

"I don't have cooties, you know."

Bucky nodded, "I know."

"Then why are you acting like I'm a leper."

"I'm not," he answered too quickly.

"You are." Bucky didn't know what else to say so he didn't say anything. After giving him an adamant amount of time for him to at least try and respond, Darcy continued, "Can you at least look at me?"

It took him a second, but he finally turned his head to look her straight on. She looked tired, bags beginning to form under her eyes, but still shockingly pretty. Her hair was loose and wavy down her back, her blue eyes were bright and bored straight into his. She wore the standard Darcy outfit, sweatpants and some ratty t-shirt with some sort of logo or pop culture reference on it. She was wrapped in a thick fleece blanket and for the first time since he first saw her roll into the common room she didn't have a smile on her face. She was almost expressionless, a poker face firmly in place, and Bucky instantly decided he hated it.

"We used to tell each other stories," she said, as if it meant nothing at all, as if those words didn't make Bucky's heart stutter and eyes widen.

"How do you know that?" he whispered, still somehow reluctant to believe she actually remembered. Someone must have told her, or she found video of their old conversations, or-

"I remember it," she stated as if it really was that simple. "I told you Mulan and you didn't get the reference and I thought that was hilarious. We watched House together. I used to log your exercises. Sometimes you would wake up from nightmares scared and I would have to talk you down. You once punched a wall-"

"I get it," Bucky grunted out, voice strained. "How long?"

"About a week," she replied. So that was why she began showing up everywhere. "You made me a promise, Bucky."

He had to look away. He'd done a shitty job of keeping his promise and he knew it. This was the part where she told him she was done with him, that he let her down, disappointed her.

"What are you scared of?" she asked him when he failed to reply.

He shrugged, but it didn't put her off, she just continued to stare at him. Waiting. Bucky had a feeling she wouldn't stop unless he answered or left. So he answered, "It's harder, like this. When you're..."

"Corporeal?"

He nodded.

"I'm the same me," she said, eyes searching his out. His chest tightened when he saw the acceptance and patience there. He'd been so stupid to waste so much time.

"I know that. But it's still hard." He averted his eyes. "It feels like starting over, only I have to make all the first moves this time and I'm no good at that stuff anymore."

"You were doing okay for a while there," he saw her smile at him from the corner of his eye.

"I was trying."

"I know. You were taking your sweet time, but it was good. Why'd you stop?"

Bucky weighed his next words carefully, "You started remembering everyone else, but not me. I thought that I wasn't..."

"That you weren't important to me," Darcy finished for him. He didn't respond. He heard Darcy shift and when he looked back she had her arms wrapped around her legs, chin resting on her knees. She was looking out the window now, too. "I only remembered anything at all because of Wanda."

Bucky's brow furrowed, "I don't understand."

"She used her powers to dig around in my head, help me remember stuff. That's why I remembered little things about the others first. Apparently big important memories are a little harder to get to. And a little harder to deal with all at once," she smiled, looking down at the carpet between them, "I was a mess right after I remembered you."

"I'm sorry," he immediately apologized.

"It's not your fault. That's just what happens when you get hit by a lot of emotions all at once. Pepper and my dad were kinda rough, too." Darcy turned and used her wheelchair as leverage to stand up on shaky legs.

Bucky was up in an instance, "Do you need help?"

Darcy waved him off and walked to the couch, leaning on side table as she went and dragging her blanket behind her, "No, I'm supposed to practice this more. My physical therapist says I could be walking on my own in another week or two." She plopped down on the couch with a sigh. Bucky stood there watching her, unsure what to do as usual these days. She patted the cushion beside her, "Do you want to sit with me?" In lieu of a vocal response, Bucky just sat where her hand had been.

"I still like you, you know," she all but whispered.

He turned to her, "You do?"

"Yes. Of course," Darcy smiled at him calmly, though her fingers fidgeting with her t-shirt gave away her nerves, "I don't know if you still feel the same way, but I want you in my life in whatever way, shape, or form you're willing to be in it. Even though you're slow on fulfilling your promises," she reached out and placed her hand over Bucky's metal one where it lay on his lap, "Okay?"

Bucky stared down at her hand, smaller than both of his and far more delicate. He turned his palm sound so he could squeeze her hand and nod. She smiled in response and Bucky's heart clenched in a deliciously painful way. "I do like you," he replied quietly, "God, doll, I've been gone for you for ages."

Something in Darcy's eyes sparkled and she blushed lightly, grin still wide but now bashful, as well. "Yeah?"

He nodded, running his metal thumb over her knuckles, "Yeah. I want to be what you need, but Darcy... I'm still messed up. I could... Hurt you." Just saying it caused a memory of the comatose girl with the wires and the tubes to flash through his head.

To his surprise, Darcy just rolled her eyes, "Don't forget I used to monitor you. You haven't lost control around people in months. You weren't even slipping into the soldier after nightmares those last couple weeks before I woke up."

"That was only because of you."

"I don't deserve _all_ the credit. But if I do help, that only means I need to be around you more."

"There are other ways I could hurt you besides losing control," he said slowly

Darcy's brows briefly furrowed before raising, her mouth forming a wry grin, "You're worried you're gonna break my heart?"

Bucky shrunk under he gaze, "I'm not sure if I can ever be the man you deserve."

Darcy smiles reassuringly and shifted closer to him, pulling his hand into her lap, "Bucky, you're perfect the way you are. And you'll still be perfect when you get better, and when you slip up, and when you're being stupidly stubborn and unmanageable," she laughed a little and pressed a kiss to his knuckles, "So stop trying to talk yourself out of this, buddy, cause you're stuck with me."

He stared at her, slightly in awe, and before he could even really think about it he had surged forward to press his lips against hers. It was dry and quick and nothing more than a firm peck, really, but when Bucky pulled back Darcy's eyes were still closed and she was smiling, a pretty blush across her cheeks.

"I love you," he couldn't stop himself from saying rather bluntly.

Darcy's eyes opened briefly and there was shock registered there, but she quickly broke into a giggle and kissed him again, bringing the hand not holding his to the back of his neck, holding him in place. This kiss was longer, more excited. Bucky got to relish how soft her lips were, how her fingers curled ever so slightly into his hair. He would be more than happy to steal short pecks from her forever, but these long excited kisses were enthusiastically welcomed and he was more than happy to return Darcy's fervor.

She did pull away after a minute or two, grinning and flushed. Her bright blue eyes stared back at his own. He felt a smile tugging at his lips that only widened when Darcy replies breathlessly, "I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! I really hoped you guys liked it and that this felt satisfying for you. Sorry this took so long, I really felt like it had to be just right and ended up taking more time than I expected. 
> 
> The epilogue is next and then we're done! I'm considering writing a sequel that's a retelling of this but from Darcy's POV and a continuation of their relationship post story. Let me know in the comments if you're interested!


	9. End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it! Final chapter, short and sweet. It didn't end up being much of an epilogue because I've already started the real epilogue - another fic continuing where this left off but from Darcy's POV. So instead this is a nice little cap to the fic! Hope you enjoy!

Natasha found the two on the couch together the next morning. Bucky's legs were stretched out on the table in front of the couch, his metal arm slung around Darcy's shoulders. Her head rested on his shoulder, her knees tucked up. Both were sound asleep. Natasha wasn't sure how they ended up cuddled together, but she wasn't surprised in the least. In her humble opinion, you didn't need to be a super spy to see how Darcy's presence had effected Bucky the past two weeks. There were signs even before the girl had been woken up from her coma.

This was good, Natasha noted to herself. James would treat Darcy right and now he could stop moping around. He deserved this after everything he had been through. Natasha understood how important the presence of someone like Darcy meant in the life of someone recovering from trauma like he had gone through. She was optimistic and talkative and cracked jokes whether they were funny or not. She remembered when she had been freshly recovered from the Red Room and Clint had been that person for her.

She and James had never been that person for each other. They were too similar to ever be that person.

This was fine by Natasha. What they had was in the past, though it was still a part of them both whether acknowledged or not. She held no ill will and she didn't think he did, either. She was happy for him. This could be another step towards a new beginning for James. She hoped it would help him become a James she had never met, one that more resembled the happy friend from Steve's memories but was still a new man altogether.

Darcy's brow furrowed and she made a low noise in the back of her throat. she wiggled around a bit and for a moment Natasha worried she had somehow woken the girl, but Bucky just tugged her closer and she quickly settled back into a peaceful sleep.

Natasha smiled and retreated before the couple actually did pick up on her presence, giving them a bit of privacy before the next Avenger walked in on them, this time much less stealthily. Bucky, Darcy, and possibly the entire tower were woken up by Thor's thunderous approval of the lovebirds a couple hours later.

As the other members of the private floors filtered into the common room, drawn by Thor's raucous, Bucky found himself not caring about the influx of people. He was too busy smiling back at the pretty girl in his arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been my brainchild since November and I'm so happy to finally see it come to fruition. I had so much fun writing this fic and it's been so great reading all of your comments and seeing you all enjoyed it, too :)
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are always appreciated and you can find me on tumblr at zaudreyhepburn.tumblr.com 
> 
> Subscribe to this series to be notified when the sequel is up!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


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